Many of us know by now that it's been better to live in North Dakota than in Nevada during the course of this recession and weak recovery. But it's still startling to see just how much better off jobseekers were in the cold North than in the arid West.

The Economic Policy Institute has created a map highlighting percentages of jobs lost in each state between December 2007, when the recession began, and September 2010, the most recent data available.

Nevada has lost 14.2 percent of its jobs during that period, while North Dakota actually saw a 2.2 percent gain in jobs.

Other states where unemployed people might have a better time finding a job include South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and New Hampshire, all of which have seen job losses of less than 3 percent, according to the EPI data. Alaska also has added a small number of jobs.

Arizona and Michigan should probably not be destination spots for jobseekers: Both have been among the harder-hit states, losing about 10 percent of their jobs since the recession began nearly three years ago.

Although the recession officially ended in June 2009, that hardly signaled the end of economic hard times, particularly for jobseekers.

Although some employers have cautiously added jobs in recent months, national unemployment remains painfully high.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that 151,000 jobs were added nationwide in October. That was an encouraging sign, even though the unemployment rate stayed steady at 9.6 percent and 14.8 million people remain out of work.

The state-by-state data for October has not yet been released.

For more detailed state data and to see the map in interactive form, click here.

You can also view a county-by-county map here.

As you've probably gathered, we here at Life Inc. love deals and freebies. In that spirit, we wanted to call out this freebie here: Every Friday in November, Burger King is giving away free, 12-ounce cups of Seattle's Best Coffee during breakfast hours -- no purchase necessary. Good to know, right?

What caught our eye about the Burger King offer, though, was this wording: "Not valid on flavored shots or whipped topping." Good gravy, are fancy-pants coffee drinks popping up everywhere?

Short answer: Yes.

These days anyone can be a flavored-double-shot-mocha-latte-sipping urbanite, and Burger King wants a piece of that action. When you saunter into a participating BK to get your free jolt, you'll be given a coupon for a free iced mocha or vanilla Seattle's Best Coffee for use during a future visit. The hope, of course, is that you'll get hooked on these little luxuries and keep coming back for more.

Funny thing about Seattle's Best Coffee: It's owned by Starbucks, which has been waging a do-or-die coffee war with McDonald's for several years now. The war escalated when McDonald's launched its McCafé in 2008 and began heavily promoting frothy lattes, mochas and cappuccinos in an effort to steal market share from Starbucks.

Starbucks acquired Seattle's Best Coffee in 2003 and announced ambitious plans this year to revamp the brand. The goal: To start selling Seattle's Best to the masses at more than 30,000 fast-food restaurants, supermarkets, coffee houses, movie theaters, convenience stores, kiosks and vending machines. And yes, those fast-food restaurants include McDonald's arch-nemesis Burger King.

To intensify the battle, Starbucks also just began offering all sorts of free access to music, movies, e-books and paid newspaper content to go with the free wi-fi it serves up in its 8,800-plus company-owned stores. (This, after McDonald's announced it would start offering free wi-fi in more than 11,500 of its restaurants.)

Meanwhile, another player has been battling in the coffee-war trenches (and enjoying a wildly loyal following): Dunkin' Donuts. In addition to regular ol' cups of joe, Dunkin' Donuts' beverage menu includes a stunning 180 (!!) fancy and flavorful drinks. Options range from mocha raspberry lattes to iced pumpkin coffees to strawberry fruit Coolattas to vanilla chai. Dunkin' Donuts also does brisk business selling ground coffee and whole coffee beans.

Ain't competition grand? If you're a caffeine junkie, it most certainly is.

How do you feel about fancy coffee drinks at fast-food restaurants? Cast your vote here!

The recession may be over, but the number of Americans using food stamps continues to soar, up 17 percent over year ago levels, according to a report posted on The Wall Street Journal's website.

A stunning 42,389,619 now use food stamps, up 58.5 percent from August 2007, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data from August cited in the story.

That means nearly 14 percent of American households are still relying on government assistance to buy food as the economy continues to batter families. The total was up 1.3 percent from July.

The numbers range widely from state to state, with 20 percent or more using federal assistance to buy food in Mississippi, Tennessee and Washington, D.C. By contrast less than 10 percent of people in nine states led by Wyoming, New Jersey and new Hampshire.

Idaho saw the largest jump in food stamp recipients over the past year, rising 38.8 percent, but the rolls are fairly low with just 211,883 state residents collecting food stamps in August, of 13.7 percent of the population. The average benefit size per person nationwide in August was $133.90, while the average benefit size per household was $287.82, according to the Journal, which has a nice state-by-state breakdown here.

Food stamps, of course, no longer come in stamp form but instead are distributed through a type of debit card. The program was renamed several years ago and is now the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Baby, it's getting cold outside. What better way to beat the chill than the latest must-have scarf popularized by the ubiquitous Kardashian sisters, Kourtney and Kim.

This week, Shefinds.com picked up on this latest fashion trend -- the Paula Bianco wrap scarf. Alas, it typically retails for more than $80. But never fear. The gals over at Shefinds found it for us at RevolvingClothing.com for $59 in blue.

If that's still too pricey, Shefinds recommends you go for a less-expensive version from The Limited for $29.99; or a Delia's Circle Scarf for $24.50.

Stay warm, and remember, all these deals are typically for a limited time, and sometimes merchants sell out of certain items.

President Barack Obama has called for a summit of Democratic and Republican congressional leaders on Nov. 18 and if 7-Eleven has its way, it'll be a "Slurpee Summit."

USA Today said Thursday that hours after Obama joked during a post-election news conference Wednesday that he would hold a Slurpee summit with the GOP leadership, 7-Eleven went into high gear and contacted White House officials to push for a meeting catered with the semi-frozen soft drinks.

"This is a rare opportunity for a brand," Margaret Chabris, a spokeswoman for 7-Eleven, which owns 44-year-old Slurpee, told USA Today. "We don't want to be opportunistic, but nothing has ever been this big for Slurpee."

The newspaper said that during recent campaign speeches, Obama quipped that GOP leaders were hanging around drinking Slurpees while the Democrats did the heavy lifting to fix the economy.

Now the timing may have nothing to do with the whole Slurpee summit rigmarole, but Obama on Thursday invited the incoming House speaker, John Boehner, top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to the White House later this month to discuss the economy, tax cuts and unemployment insurance.

In its pitch for a Slurpee summit, 7-Eleven even offered to create a purple Slurpee because that's what happens when you combine red and blue.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

In the depths of the recession, Elkhart, Ind., held an unenviable title: The metropolitan area was suffering from the highest year-over-year increase in its unemployment rate in the nation.

Now, it can claim a much more optimistic mantle: On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Elkhart metropolitan area saw the biggest improvement in its unemployment rate in the nation in September, as compared to a year earlier.

Of course, Elkhart - like the rest of the nation - isn't out of the woods yet.

The area's unemployment rate stood at 13 percent in September, 3.1 percentage points lower than in September of 2009. That’s still well above both the national unemployment rate, which is hovering around 9 percent, and far from where community would like to be in order to see its economy fully rebound.

But it’s a vast improvement over 2009, when the metro area’s unemployment rate hit a high of 20.1 percent.

The community had been devastated by the recession and economic crisis, which dealt a fierce blow to the area’s all-important RV industry. The hardship drew national attention after President Obama made several visits to the area.

A team of editors, writers and multimedia producers from msnbc.com also spent a year in Elkhart, following the community’s struggles closely. The Elkhart Project covered everything from the city’s efforts to reinvent itself to the devastating effect the economy has had on everyone from teens to the elderly.

Chances are, many in Elkhart aren’t surprised by the reversal of fortunes. Even back in 2009, many there said the area tends to be the among the first in the nation to go into recession, and also among the first to lead us out of recession.

That's because RVs are the type of big-ticket discretionary item that people tend to stop buying soon as the economy starts to turn sour. The credit crunch, which made it hard for people to get financing for things like RVs, made matters even worse for companies in Elkhart this time around.

These days, many in Elkhart are feeling cautiously optimistic. Msnbc.com revisited Elkhart several months ago. To find out more, watch the video below.

My City Mommy, a national network of bargain-hunting moms, was tweeting up a storm today about a hot deal on a KitchenAid five-piece knife set that expires tonight.

The triple-riveted stamped set includes shears, and a serrated, chef and paring knife and a wooden knife block, typically sells for more than $30. But the moms found it for it for $18 on HouseswearDeals.com and it even includes a free no-slip polypropylene cutting board. The knife set is regularly $25 on the site.

The best price out there on Bizrate.com was $19.99 at Amazon, but the site says it's temporarily out of stock at that price. It is curiously in stock if you're willing to pay $31.07.

Here’s a sure sign the Internet age has truly arrived -- and the Postal Service is really in trouble: Even the Internal Revenue Service is giving up on snail mail.

The IRS announced last week that it will no longer mail out tax packets. The packets contained forms, schedules and instructions for filing a paper income tax return.

Instead, taxpayers will be able to get their forms online or at local IRS offices, libraries and post offices, beginning in early January.

The IRS also has set up a website that provides options for free tax software, online forms and electronic filing. People who make under $49,000 a year or are over 60 can also take advantage of special services to help them with their taxes.

The tax collectors said they're making the move to save some money, and also because more people are filing electronically.

Last year, only 8 percent of taxpayers received a packet in the mail, according to the IRS. The rest used software or electronic filing service, or paid a professional to file the return.

Do Woody and Buzz Lightyear end up on the trash heap?

If you missed the movie in theaters, you can find out if you buy Pixar's "Toy Story 3," which comes out on DVD today.

The suggested retail price is $29.99, but most locations are offering the DVD for under $20.

The lowest price listed by a major retailer today was $15.98 from Walmart online, but a call to a Walmart store found it was selling there for $15.99. Target and Amazon also both offered it for $15.99 online. The DVD was seen for as low as $11.99 on Half.com from an individual seller.

If your prefer movie downloads over the physical object, iTunes is offering the movie for $9.99, but today only.

Here's the official trailer:

There was good news recently from heavy equipment maker Caterpillar: The maker of diggers and bulldozers recorded stronger-than-expected quarterly profits and said it expected sales to grow in the coming year.

What's more, the company, which shed jobs by the thousands over the course of the recession, announced that it's been hiring.

"So far this year, due to higher demand, we have increased our workforce by more than 15,000 people globally, including more than 6,000 full-time employees and 9,000 people added to our flexible work force," Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman said in a statement.

Did you catch the part about the flexible work force? If you are one of the millions of people desperate for work in this country, you probably wondered, "Flexible for whom?"

The very weak economic recovery is causing some companies to start hiring again, cautiously. But with economic conditions still uncertain, many are choosing to add temporary jobs, with no promise of a permanent position that would offer a worker job security and benefits.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employment services added 28,000 jobs in September, with temporary jobs accounting for most of that increase.

It's normal in an economic recovery for companies to add temp jobs before committing to full-time positions, and it often makes sense. That's especially true for a publicly held company such as Caterpillar, which is eager to please shareholders and is going to be nervous about spending a lot of money on new hires if they aren't sure that sales growth will keep up.

But as the nation continues to slog through this very weak economic recovery, there are some concerns that we are entering the world of perma-temps, where companies hire people for contract jobs and never give them the full benefits associated with permanent jobs, such as health insurance, vacation and retirement plan.

Time will tell when and how fast permanent jobs return. Many companies also are gearing up to add hundreds of thousands of temporary holiday positions, and some may lead to permanent posts.

President Barack Obama may end up unhappy with Tuesday's election results, but he can be satisfied with one referendum on his term in office: The stock market.

The S&P 500, a broadly based measure of stock market health, is up nearly 48 percent since Obama was inaugurated Jan. 20, 2009. The Dow Jones industrial average is up nearly 40 percent over the same time period.

Of course, it's worth noting that the stock market fell sharply between the election that put Obama in office and his inauguration, amid gloomy fears that the country was heading for the next Great Depression. The S&P is up just 18 percent from Nov. 4, 2008, and the Dow is up nearly 16 percent in that time period.

Those fears turned out to be unwarranted.

Unemployment is still well over 9 percent and the economy is expanding at a sluggish 2 percent rate, but the recession technically ended in June 2009.

The stock market rally technically began about six weeks after Obama's inauguration, after a report that battered banking giant Citigroup had turned a profit. The Dow is up nearly 70 percent since bottoming out in March 2009.

You probably know that it's dangerous to be ignorant about your finances. But did you know it can also be dangerous to be unfamiliar with Mom and Dad’s financial health?

Expenses are rising for rent, health care, transportation and heating, among other items. And while these affect all of us, rising prices can have a magnified impact on people living on a fixed income.

When elderly parents fall short on money for necessities, their adult children often have to make up the difference. And that can come while the children’s costs are rising for things such as their own childrens’ educations.

Suprisingly, older parents think their adult children know more about what’s in their piggy banks than they actually do. A recent survey by the non-partisan Employee Benefit Research Institute showed that 63 percent of parents believe their children have knowledge of their income and expenses, while only 42 percent of adult children agreed.

TODAY Financial Editor Jean Chatzky suggests a few steps you can take to boost what you know about your parents’ finances, without hurting their pride.

Begin a conversation. Your parents likely come from a generation where it was just plain wrong to ask their children for help. Kids get help from parents, not the other way around. So, make it clear that you are there for them, even if it’s just to help them sort out their income and expenses. It might help to bring a third party in, such as a financial adviser.

Is their income enough? It’s crucial to know whether your parents’ income can cover their expenses. The older they get, the more detailed the knowledge needs to be. For example: What’s left on their mortgage? What do they pay each month in car expenses? What do they spend on a daily basis?

Where are all the papers? Adult children should know where their parents keep crucial documents such as a will, legal and financial contacts, medical directives (living will and health care proxy), insurance documents, financial statements and investment records. Get contact information for their close friends and for relatives.

Last wishes. As long as you are broaching the subject, you might as well find out what they would like done in case they are incapacitated.

See the video below:

With the holiday season approaching, everyone is on the lookout for the best deals. Today, we launch our "deal of the day," a new feature to help you find the biggest bargains on everything from toys and electronics to food and apparel.

We'll be trolling Twitter, Facebook and updates from deal gurus to come up with one selected deal every day (Monday through Friday), but we want your help too. If you know of a great deal, just post a note in the comment section. We might feature deals that we find truly amazing in a future post.

You can bookmark this url to find all our deals: http://lifeinc.todayshow.com/deals. We'll do our best to post up-to-date prices and deals, but please be aware that retailers often change pricing without notice, and they sometimes run out of stock.

The first deal of the day is a blast from the past: the Playskool Alphie, a toy robot.

Alphie first made its appearance in the late 1970s and was marketed as a preschooler's first computer. It's back again this season looking a bit more sleek, including a face that's now an LCD screen, and it's interactive, teaching kids about everything from letters to music. It's recommended for children 3 and up.

Here's a demo of the toy robot from Hasbro.

The manufacturer's suggested price is $44.99, and we've seen it advertised for even more on some Web sites. But it can be had for as low as $29.99 at Toys R Us. Kmart also had the toy for $29.99 as of Friday, but as of this morning the price had jumped to $37.99 online.

Target's controversial decision to give money to a conservative political organization has hurt the company among Democrats - and it’s not helping them much with Republicans.

That's according to YouGov BrandIndex, which interviews about 5,000 people each weekday to get their perceptions on certain brands.

The big-box retailer stirred up controversy in July, when it was revealed that the company had made a $150,000 donation to an organization, MN Forward, which was running TV ads supporting state Rep. Tom Emmer, a gubernatorial candidate who opposes gay marriage.

Gay rights activists denounced the move.

Over the few months since the controversy began, the company found that Target’s brand health among Democrats has fallen sharply. However, their brand health among Republicans has pretty much stayed flat.

The index measures overall brand health based on reputation, quality, value, satisfaction and willingness to recommend the brand.

Target's chief executive has defended the move and said the company still supports gay rights and its gay employees.

Emmer, a Republican, is up against Democrat Mark Dayton in Tuesday's election. NBC has said the race is a tossup.